dwexpandedfandomcom-20200215-history
Forgotten Past
Story Since Calabrax's invasion was thwarted, The Doctor has gone missing. With an impending threat looming over the Earth, James allies himself with an unlikely accomplice to try and find The Doctor before its too late... Synopsis to be added Continuity The story begins, chronologically, immediately as 'Shadow Over Earth: Part II' (2016) finishes. The Ahkte return, for the first time since their appearance in 'Mirror Image' (2014), after their debut in 'Mission Improbable' (2012). The Cybermen, who last appeared in 'The Shadow Architect' (2015), make a cameo appearance. Production Development Development on a follow-up to FBC's Doctor Who: series 6 began on 28th February 2016, with a new script entitled 'Through the Looking Glass'. Production was set to begin in the Summer for an Easter 2017 release date, although filming was quickly delayed until the Autumn. Pre-Production was completed in October, but scheduling conflicts and casting issues caused the episode to be played on indefinite hiatus. As FBC Productions still wished to continue the series, resolving the cliffhanger at the end of 'Shadow Over Earth: Part II' (6.12), it was agreed that a simpler special incorporating plot-points from 'Through the Looking Glass' and its planned sequels would be used. Writing on the new special began on 15th October 2016, and totalled an eventual ten drafts. During the writing process, a new companion character was written-in, but it was seen to over-complicate the story, and was thus removed. Originally the special was written to be around three episodes long, but Pete Messum felt that such a length required too much padding. The script was then cut down to a shorter length, before being cut so that it ended on a cliff-hanger, leaving plot points unresolved for future episodes. '' 'Filming' ''Filming began on 18th March 2017, using the ninth draft of the script. At this point, a sequel script was in development, resolving important plot points. Filming continued on 3rd April, but shortly afterwards the script was re-written, incorporating the resolutions from the sequel to make the full episode feel more 'complete'. Filming then went on hiatus, due to cast scheduling conflicts - especially as FBC Productions unexpectedly went into production on two short films. On 13th May, filming resumed, contininuing on 20th May, 3rd and 17th June, 1st July, before concluding on 16th July 2017. Re-shoots were conducted during production according to re-writes and initial filming issues. 'Post-Production' Editing began shortly after 18th March 2017, with the initial footage filmed, before officially commencing on 17th July, and continuing for several weeks until 25th August. After this, post-production went on hiatus until 7th October 2017, with the main bulk of post-production complete on 9th October with a full edit of the film. Cast Pete Messum reprises his role as The Doctor from previous series'. J.J. DeWitt (formerly Harry P. Green) returns as Calabrax, the former Shadow Architect and villain. Plans for Calabrax's return were very quickly devised during production on 'Shadow Over Earth', including his full character arc. Joe Sheehan reprises his role as James Mason; although he was originally set to reprise his role in 'Through the Looking Glass', it was in a smaller role. The script was written to give James a larger role in the story, and explore his dynamic with other characters, including that of Calabrax, given the events of the previous story. Daniel Moynan returns to the series, this time as the Ahkte, along with Adam Mayhew, now playing the character of Dextrus - his last role with FBC Productions. Crew Once again, Pete Messum directs the episode, with J.J. DeWitt assisting direction. J.J. DeWitt also joins Pete Messum and Joe Sheehan as the special's executive producers. Murray Gold's scores for the official BBC Doctor Who series are used, in addiition to the original music from 'Survival' by Dominic Glynn and 'Doctor Who: The Movie' by John Debney. Marketing The first teaser trailer was released on 15th April 2017, followed by a second full trailer released on 22nd July 2017. Re-shoots During the filming process, the third act of the script was re-worked, incorporating elements from a follow-up script, in order to provide some otherwise absent closure. Thus, some scenes needed to be re-shot with the changes to the script. Later on during filming, some scenes were re-shot to improve upon them, including a green-screen shot being re-shot on location. Director Pete Messum had decided that conducting re-shoots during production would be easier than working on them during post-production, although he wished that the original shooting plan had been kept to as it would have made production easier and more structured overall. Series VII Plans In early 2017, it was agreed by Pete Messum, Joe Sheehan and J.J. DeWitt that their next project after the second season of U.N.I.T Files had wrapped would be a continuation of the Doctor Who series, with DeWitt joining as an executive producer. The series would consist of six-eight episodes, with Forgotten Past acting as the first (and potentially second) episode, followed by episodes titled "The Eyes Are the Doors to the Soul" and "Walkers of the Night" by Messum. J.J. DeWitt would write the initial drafts of a fourth episode titled "Calabrax and Elysium", while all three would collaborate on "The Maltese TARDIS", based on a story by Pete Messum, while Messum wrote the final two episodes "Family Time" and "Legacy of a Time Lord". During the early stages of production on Forgotten Past, it was agreed that Family Time would be filmed alongside, due to scheduling conflicts with the guest star needed. However, conflicts arose, causing the episode's production to be delayed indefinitely. The only episodes without scripts were "Calabrax and Elysium" and "The Maltese TARDIS". Elements of the original draft to "Legacy of a Time Lord" were added to Forgotten Past's tenth draft, to give the episode some conclusion. The rest of the series was planned to be produced during the Summer months of 2017, after a short break working on the original short film Quantum of Sheehan, but the series was later indefinitely delayed as production on Forgotten Past lasted longer than expected. With Forgotten Past taking longer, various ideas for sequels were written, with some of the episodes in the series potentially being re-worked into specials, spread out across 2018. Later, a regeneration episode - ending the series - was discussed, resolving all loose threads from Forgotten Past. However, in August 2017, J.J. DeWitt announced his intention to leave the FBC Productions group. With Joe Sheehan deciding to depart, leaving any sequels to Forgotten Past near-impossible to produce, thus causing all future projects to be cancelled. Sequel In November 2017, active development began on a sequel to Forgotten Past, continuing the series' continuity in a standalone story. Production officially began on 3rd December 2017, with Pete Messum, JJ DeWitt and Joe Sheehan reprising their roles as The Doctor, Calabrax and James respectively. Links to be added See also ditto Category:Templates